Game 7 Locker Room Reaction

The Penguins skated to a 2-1 series-clinching win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night at CONSOL Energy Center to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2009, where they will have home-ice advantage over the San Jose Sharks. Here's the reaction from the locker room after the biggest win in their building's history.

MIKE SULLIVAN
On how proud he is of the way his team responded and dominated:
"I can't even explain to you how excited I am for the group we have and how proud I am of them for how hard we play for each other. You know, I've been in the game a long time, and you don't always get associated with a group that has the chemistry this group has, and when you do, it's something special. I believe that we have evolved into a team in the true sense of the word, and I thought tonight it was on display."

SIDNEY CROSBY
On what was going through his mind during the final minute, trophy ceremony and into now:
"I think just nerves, excited. You know, it’s not easy. Having gone through a couple of those early on, 20 and 21 years old playing in the Finals, I think you get more of an appreciation for it now. And just love the opportunity to be able to get back."

On how proud he is of the group after everything they've gone through:
"It hasn’t been easy. I think that that’s probably been a big reason why we’ve been able to get to this point is having gone through that and built that trust. I think that we found a lot of momentum there in March and just built off of that. We’ve continued to get better. Throughout the playoffs we’ve played different styles with different teams here, and we’ve been able to adjust and still get to our game. We know the biggest challenge is ahead of us here, but we’ve got a great opportunity. It wasn't easy getting to this point, so it’d be great to finish it off the right way."

PHIL KESSEL
On if he imagined himself being here 12 months ago:
"I don’t think you can dream about that, obviously. You never expect this, and this is a huge moment in my career and my life. And I don’t even know what to say, I’m so excited."............

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